The notification appeared in the silence, a blue text bubble floating in Lian Yang's field of vision.
[Gu Yuena Tier 8 has been added to the Retinue.]
[Credits Received: 320]
Lian Yang froze. His mind, usually teeming with calculations, went blank for a moment.
He had just completed the purchase to recruit Lizelle Einstein and Frederika Tesla. He was still looking at the two unconscious figures on his bed when this unexpected notification appeared.
How?
How could Gu Yuena, the Silver Dragon Goddess, a remnant of a fallen Divine Realm, be bound?
His Brahma's Brain spun into overdrive. Gu Yuena was wounded, desperate, and burdened by the hopes of her race. Yggdrasil, with its pure, soulless life energy, must have seemed like a godsend.
She welcomed it, mistaking the shackles for a gift, Lian Yang thought. The irony was palpable. He had captured one of the most powerful beings in the world not through force, but by offering false hope.
The implications were immense and dangerous. On one hand, he now possessed an unimaginable trump card. On the other, she was an enormous risk. Her healing alone was enough to attract the attention of the gods.
I must be careful. His mind suppressed the surge of adrenaline. This isn't a new pawn. This is a powerful being who doesn't even know she's been bound to me. I must observe her from a distance.
His analysis was interrupted by a soft groan from the bed. The Gu Yuena crisis was a problem for later. Tending to his new geniuses was the immediate priority.
He approached the bed. Lizelle Einstein, with her short blue hair, looked like she had been pulled from a lab after a non-stop work session. Beside her, Frederika Tesla, with her fiery red hair, was her vibrant opposite.
Lian Yang gently touched Lizelle's shoulder. "Miss Einstein. Time to wake up."
Lizelle's eyes fluttered open, her pupils dilating as she processed the new environment. Her voice was hoarse as she whispered, "Where... am I? This isn't... the Hyperion."
Beside her, Frederika Tesla jolted awake and sat up, massaging her temples. "Ugh, my head is spinning!" Her sharp eyes immediately locked onto Lian Yang. "Alright, explain. Who are you, kid?"
Lian Yang took a step back, giving them space. "Welcome to Sweet Home. My name is Lian Yang. To put it simply, you have been transported to a new world. What are your last memories?"
The two scientists looked at each other.
"The Herrscher of the Void." Lizelle's voice was soft. "Fire... an explosion... we... should be dead."
"Indeed." Tesla's tone was sharper, her fear quickly replaced by curiosity. "I remember a deal. An entity... a contract. A chance to live again in exchange for... service." Her eyes narrowed at Lian Yang. "Don't tell me... you're our new employer? A child?"
Lian Yang nodded. "I was also given a second chance at life in this world, one filled with new phenomena and nearly limitless resources for your curiosity."
Silence filled the room.
Lizelle Einstein, the pragmatist, took a deep breath to compose herself. "Very well. Our expertise in exchange for survival. An acceptable deal. But don't expect to force us to do anything we don't agree to."
Frederika Tesla still looked unconvinced, though her eyes lit up at the words "limitless resources." She leaned forward, her curiosity overpowering her suspicion. "New world? New technology? Different laws of physics? Alright, brat. You've got my attention. But you'll have to prove you're worthy of our genius!"
Lian Yang smiled genuinely. "I would expect nothing less."
He took out his smartphone and spoke into it. "Bronya, come to my room. We have new members."
A few moments later, the door opened. A young girl with long, silver-lavender hair and calm indigo eyes stepped inside.
Upon seeing her, both Lizelle and Tesla gasped in shock.
"B-Bronya?" Tesla stammered, pointing a trembling finger. "Bronya Zaychik?! How is that possible?"
Bronya Rand simply looked at them with a flat expression, awaiting orders.
Lian Yang put his smartphone away. "Allow me to introduce Bronya Rand, the chief administrator of Schicksal. She does share the appearance and name of the Bronya Zaychik from your world, but she is a different individual. Consider it one of the quirks of the multiverse."
A moment of silence. However, another word caught their attention.
"Wait a minute." Frederika Tesla interrupted, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Did you say... Schicksal? You named your organization Schicksal?"
Lian Yang met their gazes without flinching. "It was intentional. I know the history of Schicksal in your world. I chose the name as a reminder of purpose—to protect and advance—and as a warning against the dangers of arrogance. We will be the Schicksal that should have been."
The answer seemed to satisfy them. Frederika Tesla snorted, no longer showing hostility. "Hmph. A noble goal. Just make sure you don't repeat their mistakes, brat."
Lian Yang turned to Bronya Rand. "Please introduce them to Schicksal and Sweet Home. I'll leave them in your care."
Bronya Rand gave a short nod. "Of course. Miss Einstein, Miss Tesla, with me."
As Bronya led the still-confused scientists out, Lian Yang knew the foundation for Schicksal's rapid advancement had just been laid.
---
A few hours later, Lian Yang's study had been converted into a meeting room. Lian Yang sat at the head of the table, flanked by Jingliu and Bronya Rand. Across from them, Lizelle Einstein and Frederika Tesla sat, their eyes a mixture of exhaustion and excitement.
On a large screen, Bronya Rand displayed a summary of Schicksal's status.
"Our basic infrastructure is in place," Bronya began, her voice calm and measured. "The alliance with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan gives us a distribution channel and protection. However, our current products are still limited."
Lizelle Einstein leaned forward, her eyes fixed on a diagram of the communication network. "Your communication network... it's primitive. Like ancient radio waves. Vulnerable to interception."
"Primitive is being polite." Frederika Tesla smirked. "It's like sending a telegram in the age of the internet. But we're here to fix that."
"If we adapt the principles of quantum entanglement," Lizelle continued, "we can create instant, secure, and untraceable communication. A central nervous system for Schicksal."
Frederika Tesla snorted. "Communication is boring! Energy is what matters!" She stood up and pointed at the data on the screen, her eyes blazing. "You're still relying on raw spirit energy conversion. It's like a steam engine in the age of nuclear fusion. We can create a new power source—a controlled fusion reactor that uses spirit cores as a catalyst. Imagine, building-sized mecha powered by a single reactor!"
Silence filled the room. Jingliu raised an eyebrow slightly, a sign of interest. Bronya Rand was already typing rapidly on her tablet, modeling projections.
Lian Yang smiled. "Excellent ideas. And that's just the beginning. I want you both to have everything you need. We will build an underground facility beneath this island. You will design it."
His gaze turned serious. "But we must move carefully. This world has its own 'gods.' The Spirit Hall, the two Empires... they won't stand idly by. Our top priority is secrecy."
Lizelle nodded analytically. "So, we work in the shadows? I agree."
"Hmph, having to be sneaky." Frederika Tesla muttered, though there was a glint in her eye. "Fine, as long as I get my lab."
The strategic discussion began. The division of labor was quickly established. Bronya Rand remained the chief administrator. Jingliu continued her role as protector and mentor. Lizelle Einstein and Frederika Tesla were officially appointed as joint heads of the R&D Department.
Towards the end of the meeting, Lian Yang paused. "One more thing. I've detected an anomaly in the Star Dou Forest. Bronya, deploy agents to monitor the area. Do not engage, just observe and report."
He didn't mention Gu Yuena's name. There was no need to cause unnecessary alarm.
"Our short-term goals are clear," Lian Yang concluded, looking at everyone in the room. "Build our foundation. Perfect our prototypes. Strengthen ourselves. The world isn't ready for what we're about to build. Let's make sure we are when the time comes."
---
One year passed with lightning-fast progress. Within Sweet Home, time was measured in breakthroughs and prototypes.
Beneath the island, a secret construction project was underway. Lian Yang, using the Shroud Xeric to shape raw materials, worked alongside Lizelle who designed the structures and Tesla who built the energy systems. The underground facility, "The Core," was built with incredible speed. On another side of the island, the Glacial Arena—a private ice canyon—was constructed specifically for Jingliu.
The Integrated Laboratory on Level 2 was the heart of Schicksal's innovation. The air hummed with energy from a prototype reactor of Tesla's design.
"No, no, no! Your thermal efficiency is leaking like a sieve!" Frederika's voice bounced off the walls as she stood before a holographic display. "We're losing almost 12% of our energy just keeping this thing from melting!"
Across the room, Lizelle calmly adjusted a microscope lens, not looking up. "A 0.5% efficiency gain at the cost of stability is not a logical trade-off, Frederika. Your model pushes the containment alloy to its limit. We need new materials."
"New materials take time! I need power now!"
Lizelle finally looked up, her gaze flat. "You can't have it. Which is why we start by optimizing what we have. Stable iteration is better than a reckless leap."
Lian Yang observed from the doorway, a small smile on his face as he stepped inside. "How's the progress, geniuses?"
Frederika immediately brightened. "Ah, Little Boss! Tell this blue-head that a little risk never hurt anyone!"
"Genius also requires a lab that doesn't explode," Lizelle retorted flatly. She pointed to a tablet. "Progress is steady. The Yggdrasil network you provided is a marvel, but," she stressed, "its foundation is spirit energy. Powerful entities can detect it. It's like a beacon."
She displayed a molecular model. "For truly secret communication, we need a technological layer on top of it. A quantum communication network. We need its key component: a resonance crystal. According to your data, such a material might exist in the Extremes North."
Lian Yang nodded. A crystal in the Extremes North... "You're likely talking about the Divine Ice Crystal. Extremely rare and heavily guarded. Difficult to obtain, but not impossible."
He approved the plan. "I'll have Bronya plan an expedition. For now, focus on what we can build. Consumer products are the priority. We need capital and influence."
Frederika's eyes lit up at the thought of "big toys," and she returned to her screen with renewed vigor.
---
Bronya Rand's Command Center was the strategic heart of Schicksal. The room was silent, a contrast to the creative chaos of the labs.
On her main screen, a map of the Douluo Continent was spread out, filled with constantly updating data.
A call came in. Ning Fengzhi's face appeared on the screen. "Miss Bronya, the sales reports for our initial products are... extraordinary. Far exceeding expectations." He paused, a smile spreading across his face. "However, what impressed me more was the private demonstration Mister Lian Yang gave the other day. Those 'lamps' and 'telephones'... frankly, their potential is world-changing. When can we begin mass production?"
"Demand is within our projections, Clan Master Ning." Bronya's tone was flat, not directly addressing his enthusiasm. "Mass production for those items will commence once our new manufacturing infrastructure is fully operational. For now, we are detecting increased surveillance from Spirit Hall regarding our products already in circulation. I recommend adding more guards."
Ning Fengzhi nodded. "I've already given the order. But this is about more than just profit, isn't it? The influence you're building..."
"We are merely providing tools. Our focus remains on mutual progress."
The call ended. Bronya leaned back. She wasn't just selling products. She was building an invisible network of influence.
---
In the southern part of Sweet Home island, the Glacial Arena, this time simulated as a narrow, rocky canyon, Lian Yang, now seven years old, stood across from Jingliu. A year had passed, and though his body was still small, there was a calmness and confidence in his posture that wasn't there a year ago.
Unlike their spar the previous year, this time Lian Yang initiated.
He didn't attack directly. Instead, he exploded into motion, darting along the steep canyon walls. His movements were swift and erratic, a random pattern designed to confuse. He used every rock outcropping and shadow as a foothold or cover, turning the complex terrain into his ally. He had learned the hard way that a direct confrontation with the monster before him was suicide.
Jingliu remained still in the center of the canyon, her sword drawn but lowered at her side. Her eyes were closed, as if the scene before her was irrelevant. She just stood there, a monument of silence amidst Lian Yang's storm of movement.
Now!
Lian Yang launched himself from above, his shadow merging with the cliff's shade. He twisted his body in mid-air, delivering a swift, silent thrust aimed at the blind spot behind Jingliu's neck. It was a perfect attack, capitalizing on speed, angle, and surprise.
Without opening her eyes, let alone turning, Jingliu raised her sword.
CLANG!
A light, clear chime echoed through the canyon as her blade effortlessly parried the strike. Lian Yang landed silently, immediately darting away to create distance, his heart pounding with adrenaline.
"You're getting better at using the environment," Jingliu said, her voice calm, unruffled. Her sword moved on its own, deflecting three more rapid strikes from different directions simultaneously as if it were a dance practiced a thousand times. "But you still rely too much on tricks."
A bone-chilling aura spread from her. A nearly invisible wave of ice energy swept across the entire surface of the canyon in an instant. The rock walls that had provided a solid foothold were now covered in a slick, deadly layer of black ice.
Lian Yang lost his footing and was forced to slide down, landing warily on the now glistening canyon floor. His playground had been fundamentally altered in a flash.
Of course, it wouldn't be that easy, Lian Yang thought, his breath forming a mist in the cold air. But this time, he was prepared for this kind of escalation. He had no other choice.
As Jingliu took her first step towards him, a step that was calm yet full of menace, Lian Yang activated his Systema Divinum. This time, however, his purpose was different. He wasn't trying to create a sensory disturbance to distract Jingliu; that wouldn't work. Instead, he focused all his processing power on a single goal: manipulating his Shroud of Power with maximum precision and speed.
The black fabric of Lian Yang's clothes trembled as if alive. In an instant, it elongated, transforming into dozens of pitch-black tendrils as sharp as spears. They lunged at Jingliu from all directions, creating a deadly storm of attacks.
Jingliu's sword became a blur. Even with Lian Yang's enhanced perception, her movements were nearly invisible. Every approaching tendril was cut with absolute precision, turning into scraps of fabric that vanished before hitting the ground.
However, it was the distraction he needed.
For the split second that Jingliu was occupied with the frontal assault, a thicker tendril of fabric had snuck by undetected, plunging into the icy ground at Lian Yang's feet.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then, the entire canyon trembled.
The ground beneath Jingliu erupted upwards. Giant pillars of rock, held together by thick tree roots that emerged from underground, shot out, aiming to trap or impale her. Lian Yang had combined two of his Shroud's attributes—Shroud Xeric to control the earth and Shroud Flora to manifest the roots. The terrain around Jingliu came alive, a mortal prison created from ice, stone, and wood.
"You can finally use two types of Shroud simultaneously," Jingliu said in the same calm tone, completely unfazed by the complex trap exploding around her. Her hand became a total blur. "An achievement."
Before the first stone pillar could even touch her, everything was obliterated. The thick roots and solid rock turned to dust and splinters under a storm of invisible sword strikes.
"However," she continued, her voice cutting through the chaos, "what good is a complex strategy if there is no raw power behind it?"
Before Lian Yang could even process the total failure of his plan, Jingliu moved.
She summoned her first spirit ring, a deep black circle that pulsed with terrifying power.
"Moon Crashes Tianguan Gate."
It was no longer a movement; it was a phenomenon. The air around Jingliu seemed to warp. Lian Yang felt an immense pressure that made it hard to breathe, as if the moon itself had fallen upon the canyon. With a burst of sword energy so cold it burned, Jingliu vanished from where she stood and reappeared directly in front of him.
Her sword stopped, its icy tip just a millimeter from his neck. Total silence returned to the arena.
Lian Yang stood still, his eyes closed for a moment as his brain processed the crushing defeat. He could feel the controlled killing intent from the blade.
Jingliu's voice sounded, her tone back to normal, though there was a rare hint of admiration in it. "You are a strategist trying to lead an army of peasants against a god. You know exactly what to do, every move perfectly calculated. But you lack the power to make any of it matter."
Lian Yang opened his eyes and nodded, accepting the bitter truth without argument. The frustration of his physical limitations was a variable he had long accounted for. It was a barrier that training and strategy alone could not overcome, and he knew it.
She's right, Lian Yang thought, his bitterness not from failure, but from the brutal confirmation of his hypothesis. This body has reached the absolute peak of what it can do. Its development has stalled without an external catalyst. I need my first spirit ring to begin the next phase.
---
The "Artificial Ring" project was one of the pillars of Schicksal's research. Lian Yang had wanted Jingliu and Bronya Rand to delay their seventh rings to get the best possible ones.
That night, before Lizelle and Tesla, he projected his research data.
"The problem isn't in engineering the energy vessel," Lian Yang began, his tone that of a lead researcher. "The problem is in the 'soul' of the ring."
"Artificial spirit rings?" Tesla looked intrigued. "Like a mini energy reactor bound to the soul? Interesting!"
"It won't work." Lizelle cut in, her eyes already scanning the data. "I agree with your analysis, Little Boss. Our expertise is in physics and energy. Spirit rings are a phenomenon of lineage and metaphysics. It's about soul compatibility. It's outside our field of expertise."
Lian Yang nodded, satisfied. He didn't need a solution from them; he needed confirmation that he required a new specialist.
His mind turned to the Waifu Catalog. The top two names remained the same.
The first, Mobius. A genius in evolution and genetics. She could solve his problem, but the risk was immense. Mobius was a snake. Manipulative and amoral.
The second, Herta. Member #83 of the Genius Society. Eccentric and arrogant, but not as dangerous as Mobius. Her interests were in data collection and puzzle-solving.
Mobius is the more effective solution, but also the one most likely to blow up in my face. Herta is more predictable, albeit more expensive.
The decision was made. He needed help, not chaos.
That night, he reviewed the data from Yggdrasil. Its root network had spread throughout the Star Dou Forest. However, he wanted to check on one thing that bothered him.
A hundred-thousand-year-old rabbit had disappeared from all sensors for several weeks, only to reappear on the registration records of Nuoding Academy.
He frowned. "How? It's as if... the forest itself hid her from me."
It was a disconcerting reminder. There were two possibilities: either the Asura God had learned of him, or this world was arranging destiny more literally to keep the canon on track. Both possibilities were equally frightening. However, it was clear he had already changed Ning Rongrong's future and no gods had shown up at his door yet. So there had to be another explanation.
Lian Yang stood before the holographic screen. He was seven years old now. Schicksal was already strong. It was time to take the next step.
The first step was education. He needed an institution to train lower-level members and build influence in the Spirit Master world. There was one academy famous for producing 'monsters'.
Lian Yang took out his smartphone and called one of his agents. "Lingsha. I have a task for you."